Hi, I've been studying Buddhism for a few months on my own, and I'm interested in attending a local Meditation center (are these the same as an actual temple?). The only thing is, I would be the only white man attending a predominantly Indian group. I know that our local Indian culture is very tight-knit, and my only concern is if i would be accepted. Does anyone else have any experience attending a center where they are in the minority?

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.Through the qualities of meditating in that way,Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

Darkrein, I attended an Indian meditation group years ago, most were Indians with just a few 'whites' I found the Indians welcoming at first, highly intelligent with a strong devotional leaning. As time went on and I got to know the group abit better; it was pretty much (a closed shop) as they saw each other socially between meetings and also business was a buzz word and most of them were talking about money matters behind the scenes.In a Thai Theravada center I found the Asians and Chinese would also talk about business soon as there was a tea break but then again there may be many others who would have a stronger spiritual pull. Thats just my own limited experience.

My experience is limited to Thai, Tibetan, and Vietnamese groups and all of them have been really accepting and nice. They didn't seem to distinguish on ethnicity.

I have heard stories about a particular large Chinese Mahayana community in California that was incredibly racist. At one point the community was almost entirely white, but then some racist Chinese started ostracizing all the white people. So it can happen that you face racism. You'll just have to go and see or ask around.

** I just noticed Greentara and I used similar wording!** we must be on the same wavelength

If there is a radical inconsistency between your statements and the position you claim to hold,you are a sock puppet.Make as many accounts as you want; people can identify your deception with this test.

The Chinese community can be rather close knit. My experience with Indians has been entirely different, very open and engaging. Ironically, India has similar issues around racism as we do in the United States, with lighter skin Indians being perceived as superior to darker skin Indians. From a cultural standpoint, Indians tend to be a much more male dominated society- feminism hasn't made huge inroads in my experience (limited to an extent, but heard directly from younger Indian women).

Also, in terms of giving it a chance, keep in mind that in some places, where the normal attendees don't speak good English, or where few non-ethnic people turn up, it's possible to get the impression that you are not particularly welcome simply because communication is not optimal. The normal attendees may not really have a plan for "outsiders" (e.g. have nothing in English) which may make them appear disorganised. So give it a good chance...

Darkrein wrote:Hi, I've been studying Buddhism for a few months on my own, and I'm interested in attending a local Meditation center (are these the same as an actual temple?). The only thing is, I would be the only white man attending a predominantly Indian group. I know that our local Indian culture is very tight-knit, and my only concern is if i would be accepted. Does anyone else have any experience attending a center where they are in the minority?

Is it a Buddhist center? I ask because it is a little bit unusual to find a Buddhist center developed by Indians in the U.S.A. Mostly Indian communities are practicing some form of Hindu worship, or alternatively Muslim or Jain practices. This is because Buddhism largely disappeared from India for centuries until recently.

I also ask because for Indian Hindus, especially in India and Nepal it is rare to ever let a white person into a sacred temple. This is because they don't believe we can be sincere devotees, being born into another ethnicity makes us like the untouchable caste. Here in the U.S.A it is a bit different, but some of this same latent prejudice may exist. However, this inherent prejudice is absent in Buddhism. This does not mean that Chinese or Japanese or Tibetans or Burmese will not be prejudice in some way, but that it is not embedded in the Buddhist tradition or teachings and would only be a reflection of something else.

Contentment is the ultimate wealth;Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha